The Promise
by fullmoonrisin
Summary: Stan & Marshall visit Mary in the hospital to honor a promise they made to her.


Hello again! I've had this little idea floating around in my head for a while and I finally decided to act on it after reading Good Nights and Good Mornings by jekkah. It is inspired by a deleted scene from A Stand Up Triple between Mary, Stan, and Marshall (you know the one). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one.

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><p>She hated hospitals. She hated everything about them: the sterile smell, the sick patients, the impatient family members waiting for news. Most of all, she hated the lingering touch of deaths icy fingers dwelling in the corridors as a reminder to all that not everyone who enters gets to leave. So, how was it then that someone who tried to avoid hospitals like the plague somehow wound up in them so frequently? She didn't know. She just knew she hated them; even during the good occasions.<p>

These were the first thoughts to swim through the groggy woman's blonde head as she transitioned from the land of sleep into the waking world. As the haze of sleep withdrew from her vision, she took in the stark surroundings of her hospital room.

Why was she here again? Oh yeah, that's right! She was giving birth only hours ago. This thought found Mary Shannon's head tiredly falling back against the pillows. For a few precious moments she just lay there and relished the feel of sleep beginning to reclaim her tired body before another thought occurred to her. It was her _third_ baby. She remembered a conversation she'd had with Marshall and Stan a few years previously which had ended with her making them both agree to a certain promise.

She groaned. 'Crap.' That's probably why Marshall wasn't at her bedside right at this moment. He was probably cooking some stupid prank up with Stan.

Mary thought on it for a few moments, irritated that the nurse hadn't allowed her to keep her gun with her. She wished that she could at least compete with the two men should they try anything. She chuckled to herself as she remembered the time during her first pregnancy that she'd shot Marshall in the ass during an argument. Needless to say, it had gotten her a suspension. She was only that lucky because Stan left quite a few things out of the report. The memory of the subsequent weeks and Marshall's need for a donut to sit on still made her smile devilishly.

After a few more moments of solitude, the door creaked open and broke her from her thoughts. As expected, Marshall and Stan walked in. Marshall was toting Seth: the younger of Mary's first two kids and the first of Marshall and Mary's was just over a year old. They named him Seth because Marshall's father had died in a drug bust only a week prior. He looked very much like Marshall and was every bit as precocious as his father, but he was more messy and tough like his mother. That wasn't to say that Marshall wasn't tough, it was just that Mary possessed a slightly different brand of tough.

The eldest child, Marlo, was being carried by Stan. She was the child that Mary had gotten pregnant with after a one-night stand. She looked and acted every bit like her mother; so much so that Marlo's existence was the only noticeable evidence that anyone had ever fathered her. She would be turning two years old soon.

Mary gave a tired smile at the sight. She had never pictured herself as the mom type…not even after Marlo was born. Now, she had a family and three kids. She still couldn't wrap her head around it.

She shook her head. "Where's the rest of the family? Still standing at the nursery window ogling our newest?" She asked before Marshall leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Yes. I daresay Jinx and Brandi won't be moved from the window whilst the baby is still ensconced in the nursery." Marshall smiled, taking a seat next to Stan at the bedside.

"Oh, Lord. I thought I broke you out of that Elizabethan crap." Mary said, rolling her eyes. "You're going to pass it on to our kids."

"So? Then they'll be the most intelligent in their classes." Mary opened her mouth to interrupt, but Marshall continued. "And, they're the progeny of two U.S. Marshals, which means that they'll also be from the toughest stock and no one will be able to persecute them for their intellect."

"What—Stan?"Mary whined, feeling that she was being backed into a corner in this playful argument.

"Sorry, Mary." Stan looked up from playing with Marlo. "He's got a point."

"Dammit!" She grunted, folding her arms across her chest.

"Meanwhile, you're going to pass on your excellent people skills." Marshall smirked, knowing he'd get a rise out of her. He wasn't disappointed as she uttered a "bite me" under her breath. He also registered Stan sending the kids to go play with Grandma Jinx and Aunt Brandi before he made his next comment.

"Or, we could shoot you."

"Excuse me?" Mary asked, tilting her head to the side.

"You asked us to. Remember?" Stan Said, with a smile on his face.

Oh yes, she did remember. She just hadn't really expected them to remember, let alone actually go through with it.

"I believe her exact words were, and I quote, 'I want you both to promise to shoot me in the head if I ever have three kids.' Marshall spoke, removing and cocking his Glock as Stan did the same.

"Wait. You can't really be serious guys."

"A promise is a promise, Mare." Said Marshall before the sound of two guns going off was heard.

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><p>Mary Shannon jumped up in bed with a start and looked around the darkness of her room before coming back to reality. She then looked down at her slightly swollen pregnant belly before shaking her head in tired irritation.<p>

"Man, Jinx was right. Pregnant women do have weird dreams."

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><p>Well, there it is. I know parts of it require some suspended belief. Coming from a family of nurses myself, I refuse to believe that Mary could've strong-armed her way into being allowed to keep her Glock in the hospital. Compared to every nurse I've ever known, Mary really isn't that intimidating. Also, just to clarify, the pregnancy at the end is meant to be the first pregnancy, hence no Marshall. Anyway, please R&amp;R!<p> 


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